Chapter 93 Why is this guy at Tianxiang Teahouse fanning himself with a fan in this freezing weather? ...
In the capital, traffic flows like a river, and the strong branches stretch towards the sky, with pedestrians wrapping themselves tightly in cotton-padded clothes to brave the wind as they pass by.
Li Yang lowered the carriage curtain and chuckled, "That was close. If we had come a few days later, the canal would have been frozen, and we probably wouldn't have reached Tongzhou before the canal transport stopped."
“Exactly,” Lu Jie laughed. “Every year when the autumn winds blow, merchant ships flock to the capital, otherwise it’s business for the following year. Zhao Zhao, everyone, let’s go to the inn to rest for a while. We have an appointment to meet Master Fei this afternoon.”
Upon disembarking, Lu Jie arranged for a fast horse to deliver a message to Master Fei, the owner of Tianxiang Restaurant in the capital. Presumably, the other party has already received the message.
While in Songshan Town, it was because they saw Fei Ye's reply to Lu Jie, which was full of conviction and warm invitation, that they were able to muster the courage to take the Kui Long Pearl and venture into the capital.
Now, as they approach the capital, Li Yang felt a little apprehensive. "With Fei Ye being so powerful, is it feasible for us to go empty-handed?"
Lu Jie disagreed, “It’s a small gift but a big sentiment. You can wrap a pound of tea that the Emperor praised, which is a decent gift. Besides, you’ve read Fei Ye’s reply. He’s waiting to see what kind of woman from Jiangnan can get the Emperor to personally inscribe something for her.”
"Sigh." Li Yang knew he was just trying to comfort him, so he grabbed Zi Yan's hands instead. "Sister Zi Yan, will you come with me?"
Unexpectedly, Ziyan seemed to have some concerns, saying, "I haven't tied my hair up yet, so I'm afraid it will be inconvenient."
Li Yang nodded. Sister Ziyan is beautiful, but who knows what kind of person she is? It's fine if he goes there to discuss business, but if she is after his beauty, it might cause trouble if she goes there rashly.
Lu Jie, watching the group constantly trying to figure out Fei Ye, found it amusing. He understood Zi Yan's concerns and couldn't help but say, "Don't worry, I've known Fei Ye for many years. He's a dignified man and has a certain status in the capital. Zhao Zhao, don't be afraid."
After some deliberation, Li Yang ultimately went with Lu Jie, while Xiao Lu and You Feng followed Zi Yan.
The two headed straight for Tianxiang Tower.
"Sir, please come upstairs." The waiter greeted Lu Jie with a broad smile and gestured for him to go upstairs.
The exterior of Tianxianglou is inconspicuous, but the interior is quite elaborate.
In the center of the first floor is an egg-shaped counter, with a few scattered tables around it, and the owner doesn't seem to care about how much business he does.
The second floor was brightly lit, with private rooms arranged in a circle. In the center was a landscaped area with rocks and flowing water, making it impossible to hear what was being said inside.
Two burly men stood at the top of the stairs, making it seem like climbing one floor wouldn't be so simple.
Li Yang clicked his tongue and glanced at Lu Jie, "This Tianxiang Tower seems to have quite a background."
Lu Jie stared straight ahead, nodded, and remained silent.
Seeing this, Li Yang remained silent and followed the waiter through a maze of turns to the entrance of the private room. "Sir, please come in."
The private room is spacious, with separate sections on the left and right sides, each separated by banana leaves.
The room was warm, and the two men, having just entered, couldn't help but blush. The waiter served them hot tea, and the two chatted idly over it.
"How do you know this shopkeeper?" Li Yang asked curiously.
Lu Jie blinked his blue, watery eyes. "The first time I came to the capital with a merchant ship, I was quickly swindled out of a large sum of money."
As he said this, the back of his ears turned slightly red. "When I was desperate, I met Master Fei. He helped me get my money back and also helped me sell the velvet blankets I brought, which allowed me to start traveling between the two countries."
Hearing this, Fei Ye became very enthusiastic, and Li Yang felt even more confident about what they were going to discuss later.
Just then, someone entered. A tall young man, dressed in a long brocade robe with a black brocade belt adorned with jade, and a white jade pendant swaying lightly with his steps, entered. He took off the fox fur coat from his collar and casually tossed it onto a side table.
"Master Fei." Lu Jie quickly stood up, respectfully.
The visitor nodded to him and quickly sat down at the table.
Seeing this, Li Yang quickly stood up, but gestured for him to sit down.
The three took their seats, and Lu Jie introduced, "Master Fei, this is the friend I mentioned to you, the owner of Miaoxiang Teahouse in Songshan Town, surnamed Li, given name Yang."
Li Yang quickly greeted him, "Master Fei."
The newcomer smiled and said, "Madam Li, it's a pleasure to meet you."
The three sat around the table, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then Li Yang described the main points of the matter with a forced smile, saying, "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Master Fei."
The young man frowned and spoke directly, "I'm afraid Lady Li didn't finish her story."
She was surprised. This man was quick-witted and sharp-tongued. In just a few words, he bluntly said that there was more to the story than met the eye.
Li Yang wasn't one to keep things to himself, but he wasn't sure what connections Madam Zhang and her group had in the capital, and he was afraid that if he spoke up, he would run into trouble.
She thought for a moment and said, "Master Fei, you flatter me. My husband is a salt merchant in Songshan Town." She paused, observing the other man's expression, but he didn't seem surprised, so she couldn't get any information out of him. She continued, "It's just that we had a disagreement with the government over salt affairs, which led to some problems with the tea business."
She couldn't lie, and seeing the other person's distinguished appearance, she didn't know how deep the water was, so she dared not tell a lie. She only mentioned the facts, without mentioning any names.
Fei Ye shook his fan lightly, "The salt merchant is the salt transport commissioner, the salt transport commissioner in charge of Songshan Town, if I remember correctly, is Zhang Youdao."
The man thought for a moment and then easily recited Lord Zhang's full name.
Li Yang was even more surprised. Why was this person fanning himself in the freezing cold?
What a weirdo.
This strange man was so familiar with salt affairs that he could easily name the salt transport commissioner of Songshan Town, even though he was far away in the capital.
Li Yang suppressed his inner elation, "Exactly. Master Fei seems quite familiar with this Lord Zhang?"
The person opposite smiled and said, "Madam Li, please don't misunderstand."
He gently fanned himself, “My lady has lived in Jiangnan for a long time and may not know this. For the current state of the nation, salt affairs are the most important matter in the Great Qing Dynasty. I have lived in the capital for a long time and Tianxiang Tower receives guests from all directions. I am familiar with the ins and outs of this place and can properly entertain tea guests.”
Moreover, what he didn't mention was that anyone familiar with the salt industry knew about the Chen family of Jiangnan. And in the capital, even the old men at the alley entrance could rattle off national affairs; it was likely that no one was unaware of her husband's name.
Li Yang quickly replied, "I see. I'll have to learn more from Master Fei when it comes to doing business."
He suddenly frowned. "In that case, this batch of tea won't be easy to sell at Tianxianglou."
Li Yang felt a chill run down his spine.
Sure enough, Lord Zhang and his group still had some connections in the capital, which made the manager of Tianxiang Tower wary of them. Her face fell.
Seeing this, the person opposite smiled and said, "Zhang Youdao's wife has an older sister. Back then, when Madam Zhang married into the Zhang family, her sister married into the Ji family, which is the maternal family of Consort Li in the palace."
"This matter was previously facilitated by Madam Zhang, who was involved in selling Consort Li into the capital. It must be inextricably linked to Madam Ji. Now that Madam Zhang has cut off this avenue, even if the Ji family doesn't intervene, I'm afraid no one in the capital will dare to provoke Consort Li."
Li Yang couldn't even manage a fake smile, and muttered, "I see."
But then the person on the other end continued, "However, although His Majesty favors Consort Li, there is still Consort Gao in the harem. Therefore, this matter is ultimately just a minor disagreement with the Zhang family, and only a roundabout marriage with the harem. Consort Li will not really get involved."
The current emperor's harem is not peaceful. The empress is in poor health and spends most of her time recuperating in the Buddhist hall, not handling affairs of state. Consort Gao assists in managing the six palaces.
However, the emperor's most favored concubine was none other than the young and beautiful Consort Li.
These two empresses each have children: Consort Gao's second son and Consort Li's fourth son, both of whom have reached adulthood.
Both sides held their own views and refused to yield, resulting in a confrontation between the two families.
Now, the Li family has received many rewards thanks to their daughter, and many people in the previous dynasty have attached themselves to the Ji family.
Zhang Youdao was able to secure the lucrative position of Salt Commissioner of Songshan Town thanks to this connection.
Although Tianxianglou has no relation to Consort Li's lineage, it still serves the officials of the capital, so it's not appropriate for them to openly oppose Madam Zhang.
Li Yang: Really?
Fei Ye laughed and said, "Of course, if Consort Li makes a mistake because of this, and someone finds a handle against her, and she loses the Emperor's favor, wouldn't that be a case of losing more than you gain? Madam Zhang's connection can only stop other merchants, but it can't stop you from selling this batch of goods yourself."
After listening to his words, Li Yang pondered: Judging from Lu Jie's behavior today, he was quite respectful to this young master. He must have told him about the situation in Songshan Town in detail when he wrote the letter. Since the other party knew his background and still extended a warm invitation, he must have a backup plan.
She smiled, her voice sincere, "Please enlighten me, Master Fei."
He was secretly pondering that every word this man had just said was designed to entice him to linger in the capital and sell tea on his own. Merchants don't work without profit, but he wondered what the owner of Tianxianglou wanted in keeping him around.
"Has Lady Li considered opening the Miaoxiang Tea House in the capital?"
Li Yang looked surprised. "Open a teahouse in the capital?"
The decision to go to Beijing was sparked by Fang Yuan's words about "making it bigger and stronger." However, she didn't tell Lu Jie about this, presumably it was Fei Ye's own idea.
Sure enough, he was trying to get me to stay.
Fei Ye: "Exactly, open a branch. Among the officials in the capital, there are those who are with Madam Zhang, and there are those who are strangers to them. Once Madam opens this branch, customers will come. Moreover, ordinary people have no taboos. As long as the tea is really good, they will not have to worry about not being able to sell it."
Regardless of this person's intentions, what he said was indeed reasonable. Besides, I had originally planned to open a teahouse in the capital anyway, so I might as well go with the flow.
Thinking of this, the casual tone of Chen Junbo's voice when he told her to close the teahouse that day suddenly flashed through her mind.
Although she was unfamiliar with the city and its people, she believed that with Miaoxiang Teahouse as an example, she could successfully open another teahouse in the capital.
At that time, not only will they sell the Kui Long Pearl they have, but they will also secure their position in the capital and make Chen Junbo suffer a great defeat!
Seeing her increasingly bright eyes, Fei Ye reminded her, "But young lady, you must keep a low profile. Since Madam Zhang has cut off your sales channels, she certainly wouldn't expect you to be able to run to the capital on your own. As long as you keep a low profile, once the branch's business is stable, you won't have to worry about her causing trouble."
What he didn't say was that once the teahouse in Liyang opened, he would naturally have a way to send someone to take care of it, and he didn't expect that Madam Ji wouldn't be able to get involved so easily for the time being.
After chatting for about half an hour, the two bid farewell to Master Fei, hurriedly pushed open the door and went out, causing the curtain to flutter in the wind.
The young man in brocade sat alone in the room, watching the two figures disappear into the corridor. He gently shook his paper fan and muttered to himself, "The girl from the Li family, don't disappoint me."
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